Sustainability Committee

Inquiry into Carbon Reduction in Wales: Carbon Reduction by Transport

Response from Network Rail

Dear Ms Hawkins

Re: Sustainability Committee Inquiry into Carbon Reduction in Wales

Further to the Sustainability Committee’s announcement of its inquiry into carbon reduction, Network Rail would like to respond to some of the questions specific to transport emissions of carbon dioxide with regard to rail transport.

About Network Rail

Network Rail is the 'not for dividend' owner and operator of Britain's railway infrastructure, which includes the tracks, signals, tunnels, bridges, viaducts, level crossings and stations - the largest of which we also manage.

Network Rail recognises that climate change poses a significant risk in terms of social, economic and environmental impact. Network Rail is very supportive of the aim to reduce the UK’s carbon emissions and welcomes the opportunity to respond to this consultation.

In the UK, Network Rail is leading efforts to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of the rail industry. We aim to reduce our non traction carbon footprint by 20% by 2014.

Network Rail’s Response to specific questions

3. What particular challenges does Wales face in reducing carbon dioxide emissions from transport, and how can these challenges be overcome?

The Welsh Assembly Government has made a public commitment to the development of rail which we very much welcome. We look forward to working with the Government and councils to further develop an environmentally friendly rail network in Wales.

Wales is unique in the UK in that it has no electric traction on the rail network. All trains are run on diesel. However, a feasibility study is about to start on electrification of the line from Wrexham to Bidston in Merseyside.

A proposal to enable the route from Port Talbot to Llanwern steel works to carry larger trains is currently under consideration by Network Rail and our industry partners. This would increase the capacity of each train, allowing more freight to be carried by rail, as opposed to road. Higher capacity will also mean less trains will need to be run on the line, thereby reducing carbon dioxide emissions further.

First Great Western, who operate two Inter City125 trains every hour to Wales, are currently having the fleet re-engined, which will reduce emissions.

4. Do the current transport policies of the Welsh Assembly Government give sufficient emphasis to carbon reduction?

We would like to see even closer collaboration between the rail industry and Welsh transport authorities over the development of transport policies to reduce carbon emissions.

In particular, government and the industry must continue to work closely to maximise the use of railways, as one of the most environmentally friendly forms of transport, to achieve carbon reduction. Carbon dioxide emissions from rail are generally around two-thirds of car emissions (on a per passenger mile basis) and around one-eighth of heavy goods vehicle emissions (on a tonne of freight per mile basis).

Network Rail would like to build on its existing close relationships with the Welsh Assembly Government and councils over the development of rail Route Plans and the Route Utilisation Strategy for Wales. Network Rail works closely with the Welsh Government and councils through the RUS industry stakeholder group and RUS consultation process.

However, we believe it is vital for the Welsh Assembly, Assembly Government, Welsh councils, Joint Transport Authorities and the Passenger Transport Committee for Wales to specifically take account of the Network Rail Route Plans and the Route Utilisation Strategy (RUS) for Wales when devising the Wales Transport Plan and Local Transport Plans. They should consider how their proposals will impact on rail capacity and whether they need to financially support enhancements to the network.

RUSs are central to the forward planning activity of the rail industry. Twenty six Route Plans and nineteen RUS’s are produced for all routes across the network by Network Rail, in consultation with, and on behalf of, the whole rail industry and wider stakeholders. They set out current capacity, passenger & freight demand, operational performance and cost and projections going forward to address the future requirements of rail users, funders and key stakeholders. The RUSs then inform the development and delivery of timetables, infrastructure maintenance and renewals for the network.

6. Could alternative targeting of Welsh Assembly Government financial resources lead to greater reduction in transport emissions than is currently being achieved? If so, where could additional resources lead to greatest impact?

Shifting more passengers from road to rail will reduce the carbon emissions of the transport sector as a whole. The first sustainable development review of the rail industry, 'The Case for Rail 2007’ identifies rail as a sustainable transport option that minimises impact on the environment. The review reveals that the average CO2 emission for a rail journey is around half that of an equivalent car journey and about one quarter of the same trip by plane. Rail contributes just 0.4 % to Britain’s carbon dioxide emissions.

Furthermore, this green network is the busiest it has been for 50 years. The number of passengers has increased over 40% in the last 10 years and the amount of freight is up nearly 60%. The biggest contribution national and local government and the rail industry can make to climate change mitigation is to enable modal shift to rail from other more polluting modes of transport. Increased investment railway infrastructure can help this modal shift.

7. What examples from other administrations (devolved, UK, and overseas), where other means have been used to achieve reductions in transport carbon dioxide emissions, could be adopted in Wales under current powers?

In the UK, Network Rail is leading efforts to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of the rail industry. We have set a carbon reduction target of 20% for non traction energy by 2014. We are currently undertaking an energy review of these activities and are developing a nation-wide non-traction Carbon Reduction Strategy for implementation from April 2008.

Specific examples of our environmental measures include the development of new lightweight trains which are more energy and track efficient and recovering, recycling or reusing more than 60% of waste from depots, stations and offices. We are investing in new technology for our new stations to ensure they are high quality but have a small carbon footprint.

Network Rail is also a member of the cross rail industry Sustainable Development Steering Group tasked with ensuring the railway industry develops in a sustainable manner. This group has set up the Carbon Reduction Working Group (CRWG) which aims to develop an industry lead and agreed carbon reduction framework. The group will agree a cross-industry carbon reduction framework and target, which is expected in Autumn 2008.

9. If specific carbon dioxide emissions targets are to be set for Wales, should those targets be subdivided into shares by sector? If so, what share of the total should reductions by the transport sector comprise?

In 2004, passenger and freight rail emissions accounted for only 0.7% of total UK CO2 emissions(¹⁾. Whilst further improvements can be made in this area, greater reductions could be realised if attention was focused on shifting more passengers to rail from larger sources of emissions (e.g. cars account for 12.8%).

Increasing passenger numbers on the rail network will increase rail’s carbon emissions but will reduce emissions from other transport modes, such as cars, aviation, buses and coaches, thereby reducing the carbon emissions of the transport sector as a whole.

I hope the above information will be of assistance to the inquiry. We would be happy to elaborate on any area of particular interest to the committee. I can be contacted on 020 7 557 9662 or Mark.Hoda@networkrail.co.uk.

Yours sincerely,

Mark Hoda
Public Affairs Manager

⁽¹⁾ Transport Statistics for Great Britain based on National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory data 2004.